My 5: Monte Fort, Macau.

1. February 2018. Macau’s 400-year-old stone fort sits snugly next to The Ruins of St. Paul in the peninsula’s gorgeous historical centre. Built by the Jesuits in the 1620s, the top battlements feature a number of cannons and enclosed quarters for soldiers and storage rooms. The fort was maintained as a military base right up until 1965.

2. February 2018. It’s just a fifteen -minute walk up to the top through the pretty garden. There are great city views from all sides where you can pick out the most prominent hotel-casinos. The hulking beast dominating the back of this shot is The Grand Lisboa. No matter where you go in the peninsula, you’ll never be too far from a glimpse of its imposing, lotus flower form.

3. February 2018. Macau Museum is also located atop the fort. Housed in a former weather station, there are three floors of exhibits detailing Macau’s past and present, along with future development plans. Open daily from 10:00-18:00, tickets are priced at 15MOP (£1.35/€1.50/$1.90). If you’re lucky enough to time your visit for the 15th of the month it’s free!

4. February 2018. The fort offers an excellent perspective of old and new Macau, with wobbly, ramshackle sardine tin neighborhoods cowering in the shadows of mountain-framed skyscrapers.

5. February 2018. There are several garden paths that wind around the fort and back down to the old town. Take a moment or two to rest at the various benches and just take in the beautiful flowers, trees, plants and birdsong. And yes, another angle or two of The Grand Lisboa!

For more on my time in this amazing corner of China, check out my other articles onMacau.

Like these? Then why not leaf through my many other 5s from acrossChina.